


Subtle Valse Musette

by Freedom_Shamrock



Series: Marichat May 2018 [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hostage Situations, Identity Reveal, Marichat, Marichat May, Mutual Pining, Non-Graphic Violence, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-03 00:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14556453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/pseuds/Freedom_Shamrock
Summary: Marinette has been friends with Chat Noir for many years, though his visits have increased since she and her other friends all moved to different universities.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Valse musette is a form of waltz developed in France in the late 19th century often accompanied by a cabrette, hurdy gurdy, and/or accordian.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat tells Marinette a story about his childhood during one of his visits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marichat May prompt #5 - yarning for you

Marinette looked up as her window slid open to admit a tall blond young man dressed in a leather catsuit, mask and ears.  She smiled and shoved aside the design that was giving her trouble, eager for the break his arrival required.

"Hey Kit-cat," she said.  "It's been a few days, I was starting to worry you'd been picked up by animal control."

He grinned at her.  "I am far too slick for such a mundane demise."  He settled himself in the chair hammock that hung beneath her lofted bed.  "Just been busy."

She opened her mini fridge and pulled out some snacks.  He was always hungry, and she worried he didn't eat enough.  He was so thin, especially after that last growth spurt that pushed him over 193 centimeters "I saw that last akuma battle, and… I was worried about you.  You got knocked around pretty hard."

He waved a hand dismissively, tucking his feet up into the suspended chair.  "Ladybug always fixes everything. And my suit protects me from far more than seems possible."  He brushed his hands down his chest. "I've tried to figure out the physics involved, and… it just doesn't make sense."  He shot her a grateful smile. "But I really appreciate the concern, Princess."

She handed him one of the mini berry tarts she'd picked up last weekend.  The biggest disadvantage of living in a student residence hall, was that she didn't really have her own kitchen.  Sure, there was one she could use, but it was tiny, poorly furnished, and had really crappy appliances. It was better to just bring good stuff from her visits home.  Besides, her parents liked that her kitchen situation pushed her home regularly.

"Oh god, I  **love** these," he said before shoving it entirely into his mouth and making happy noises.  "These are from your parents' bakery, I can tell." He tilted his head to the side. "Maybe I should bring you treats from their bakery to make up for all the ones I eat," he suggested.

"You don't have to," she said, shaking her head.  It was probably already too late to change his mind.  He was stubborn, but sweet. She slipped the rest of the treats onto the wooden crate that served as a side table to the chair.  She pulled out her knitting basket and plopped into the bean bag chair across from him. "So how've you been? How's civilian Chat Noir's life going?"

"Eh, the usual."  He shrugged. He'd first started visiting her after the Evillustrator incident.  Initially it was about twice a month, then three times a month as she got close to graduation.  When she'd moved into the residence hall to be closer to classes, and the studio where she did so much of her work, he suddenly started showing up much more often.  It was actually really nice, because she felt so alone here, especially at first. Sure, she'd gotten to know people, but none of her friendships were as vibrant and strong as those with her friends who'd followed their own paths.  She wondered if his best friends had gone off to schools farther away, like hers.

She pulled out her current project, letting her fingers pick up the rhythm while she chatted.  "Tell me something about your childhood," she suggested. He loved telling her stories, as long as they wouldn't reveal too much.  "It can be anything."

"Hmmm."  He rubbed at his chin and leaned forward to peer into her basket of yarn.

"No tangling them up," she teased.

"Pffft.  I'm not an  **actual** cat," he said.  "But I can't help but be curious."  He reached in and drew out a ball of light blue yarn, soft and perfect for making scarves for crushes.

She smiled and waited.  Sometimes it was easier for him to talk about things in his distant past, when his life wasn't so over-scheduled and his family was happier.  She liked learning more about him, the guy who'd been her partner for so long, not that he was aware that she was Ladybug, of course. 

He held the yarn, squeezing it as he leaned against the wide mesh of the chair's back and suspension.  "So you know how I've studied fencing for a long time?"

She nodded.  She'd learned that detail as both Marinette and Ladybug.  It had been obvious once she knew. He very often wielded his baton like an epee.  

"It's one of the activities I picked for myself, and it was kind of an accident."  He smiled, his fingers moving around the yarn in a way that looked suspiciously like kneading.  "My father was a fencer, and I guess he was decent at it, or maybe still is." He shrugged, blowing off the awful relationship she'd heard about before.  "But my mother was amazing. She competed at international levels… uh, probably shouldn't have mentioned that, but…" 

"I won't look up past international fencing champions," she promised, fully meaning it.  His safety was too important to risk her discovering his identity, though at times, she kind of wanted to throw caution to the wind.

"Great."  He beamed at her.  "Anyway, Maman practiced every day.  Even though she'd retired from competition, she still loved the sport.  And she was  **so** amazing to watch."  His eyes turned toward his hands, but the far-away look suggested he wasn't seeing his gloves or the yarn.  "I would sneak in and watch her, and then when I was able to escape from my tutors, I'd try to practice what I'd seen with Maman's gear.  Of course her swords were all too heavy and long for me, and eventually I made enough noise that I got caught." He let out a sigh, slow and content sounding.  "Pere was furious, but Maman laughed for the longest time." He met Marinette's eyes. "She ended up being my first teacher."

Seeing him happy about something from his childhood warmed her heart.  "Thank you Kit-cat, that was terribly sweet, and I'm glad you shared it."

"Thanks for reminding me."  He shrugged. "I'd kind of forgotten about that until now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 minute speed write. Sorry this was late. I got it finished last night, but was too tired to proofread after herding smol Chinese dancers at a festival. I plan to hit today's prompt after taking the Girl Scouts horseback riding.
> 
> In addition to being a supply for knitting, yarning can refer to storytelling (telling yarns).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya is spending the weekend with Marinette now that they both have a lull in their schedules, and nosy bestie has found something in Marinette's sketchbook worth discussing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marichat May prompt #11 - are you doodling Chat Noir???

Marinette carefully balanced the two cups of residence hall cafeteria coffee in one hand while she caught the door with the other.  "I'm back," she called, expecting Alya to still be lounging up in her bed. They'd stayed up pretty late catching up.

"I'm going to start calling you the coffee fairy," Alya said, spinning the hammock chair to face the door.

Marinette startled, but managed to not drop either drink.  "It's dining hall coffee, so maybe hold back on the praise until you've tried… hey, what are you doing?"  She recognized the sketch pad in her best friend's lap, and her happiness vanished. "Alya, you promised not to snoop."

"This one was sitting out on top of everything else on your desk," Alya pointed out.  "I didn't think that qualified as snooping." She arched her eyebrows. "At least not until I looked at the pictures."

Marinette groaned and stomped over to her desk chair.  She definitely hadn't had enough sleep for this. "It was closed.  That counts."

Her best friend sighed heavily.  "Look, Mari, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have picked it up.  But I… it's been so weird not seeing you every day. We're both so busy that we sometimes don't even talk for a week.  And I know we promised to get together on weekends when we can, but it just doesn't happen that often."

Marinette looked up.  Surprised to see Alya looking anxious.  The girl who could live-blog from the shoulder of an akuma intent on sacrificing her was worried.

"I was afraid you'd replaced me with other friends," she admitted.

"You aren't replaceable," Marinette insisted.  Although she was still annoyed, she understood where Alya was coming from.  She felt so removed from the other woman's life, with them at different universities in other parts of the city.

Alya shrugged.  "I hear what you're saying, but…"

"But what?"

Alya flipped open the book and held it out for Marinette to see.  The page was filled with drawings of Chat Noir. "Your sketchbook says something else."

Marinette rolled her eyes and forced out a laugh.  "Chat Noir has hardly replaced you. He's a famous person."

"Yes," Alya drawled.  "And you've  **never** been friends with famous people."  She fake coughed a few times, barely covering the names Adrien Agreste and Jagged Stone. 

Marinette snorted.  "I work for Jagged sometimes, Alya.  We don't call each other up for hair, makeup, or dating advice."  She pointed at her friend. "And Adrien's your friend, too." She waved at the spiral book in her friend's lap, hoping to dismiss the topic.  "Chat Noir's on TV and in the news so often, and I've been thinking about creating a line around him for a final project. You know how that works.  I need to draw the inspiration behind the designs a bit first, picking up the details that will incorporate well into whatever I'm designing."

Alya nodded.  "That doesn't usually involve movie dates, video gaming, and portraits of said inspirations hanging out in your dormitory room."  Alya flipped the page to show off the damning evidence of Chat Noir dozing on her bed, nibbling cookies in her hammock swing, and reading a book while sprawled across her floor.

Marinette blinked a couple of times.  There were so few directions she could go with this.  Over the top, seemed best. "Yes Alya, you caught me," she said drily.  "I'm dating Chat Noir."

"Nice try, but you're not throwing me off your trail that easily," Alya said with a smirk.

"He's my new best friend," Marinette added.  He'd actually been a best friend with her alter ego forever, but she didn't count that since Alya didn't know she was Ladybug.  " **He** doesn't snoop through my stuff."

Alya laughed out loud at that.  "Sure. The cat-boy isn't at  **all** curious about  **anything** ."  She snorted.  "Did you forget, I've seen him in action?"

"You clearly don't know him as well as you thought."  She reached out and snatched the sketchbook out of Alya's hand.  "He's a perfect gentlecat."

Alya grinned.

"Damn it," Marinette muttered.  She should  **not** have dropped a cat pun right there.

"Spill girl," Alya said, wriggling enough to jiggle the hammock chair.  "I need all the dirty deets."

"Fine," Marinette huffed.  "He comes over. We hang out.  I feed him, because seriously, have you seen how thin he's gotten?"

Alya nodded.  "And?"

Marinette shook her head.  "And nothing. There's nothing dirty here."

"No cuddles?  No confirmation that Chat Noir can purr?" Alya asked suggestively.

"I can neither confirm, nor deny cuddles or purring."  Ugh this was such a mess.

Alya cackled.

"This is all off record, Alya," Marinette said firmly.  "You're not supposed to know, because if anyone finds out we're friends, it will put me in danger, and he'll stop visiting me.  He's lonely. The guy behind the mask, he doesn't have the freedom you and I have. Other than Ladybug and Rena Rouge, he doesn't have a lot of people he considers friends."

Alya slipped out of her seat to wrap her arms around Marinette.  "I would never share your secrets without your permission, Mari. I won't put a target on your back."  She sighed. "I just felt like you were hiding something. And I worried about you." When she stepped back, her eyes looked extra wet.

"I appreciate your concern," Marinette said.  "I really do."

Alya shrugged sheepishly.  "But you don't appreciate interrogation."

Marinette nodded.

"So if I ask nicely, as a friend, will you tell me what's going on between you two?"

"There's nothing going on," Marinette insisted.

"Yet," Alya tacked on.

Marinette rolled her eyes.  "Yet," she agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 minute speed write.
> 
> I'm all healed up, and trying to plot out my catch up plans, so ideally, I'll have another chapter for this story posted today, for prompt #14.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is working on a project that just isn't working out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marichat May prompt #14 - I told you it was a bad idea to do that

"Ugh," Marinette grumbled picking at the puckering of her hand stitching and trying to get the fabric to flatten out.  She wasn't sure if the problem was the fabric or the thread, but something wasn't working properly in this mix.

"What's the matter, Mari?" Chat asked, leaning over the edge of her bed where he'd been napping.  

She idly wondered how likely it was that she'd ever see him fall while doing that.  "This fabric is awful and I hate it." She threw the project onto her bean bag as she went to flip on the iron.  "It's  **supposedly** rayon challis, but it's not as as soft and drapey as I've come to expect from my challis, and it's  **so** hard to use."  She stretched up on her toes, hearing her back click as it adjusted to the position after being hunched over for so long.  "I think it's somehow dulling my needles. And the thread is catching and pulling all weirdly." She shook her head.

"That sucks," Chat said.  "What are you going to do about it."

She shrugged.  "I'm going to iron it."

He stared at her for a moment.  "Iron it? What will that do?"

"Aside from helping hold things in place a bit along the seam, some fabrics cooperate better when they're warm."  She shrugged. "It's like the fibers relax."

"Where did the fabric come from?" he asked.

"Our professor brought it in, and she was really excited about seeing what we could do with it."  She sighed. She really liked Professor Simmons, and didn't want to disappoint her with this.

Chat's expression got pinched, like he was trying to decide on a course of action.  "I'm not sure ironing it is the best plan," he finally said.

She raised an eyebrow.  "Who knows more about textiles and design, me or you?"

"You," he admitted.  "Definitely you. I just… I have a bad feeling about this."

"I have a bad feeling about the whole project," she grumbled, snatching up the unfinished top and laying it over the ironing board.  "I liked my design. I actually wanted to be able to wear this." She sighed and lifted the iron to run along the seams where she was working.

"Something smells wrong," Chat said.  "Like melting plastic."

The fabric started sticking to the iron and Marinette hastily pulled the hot tool away from the shirt.  Even with her unenhanced sense of smell, she could detect what he'd mentioned. The seams had self adhered, leaving behind an end result that was stiff and an odd mix of smooth and wavy.  "Shit." She looked at her iron's setting, still in a safe range for the fabric she allegedly had. "This isn't rayon challis." She looked up at Chat.

He winced.  "Wasn't there something in the news recently about counterfeit fabrics?"

Marinette scowled at the melted fabric.  "Yes."

"Wouldn't your professor know this was a fake?" he asked.

Marinette turned off the iron.  "I'm pretty sure that was the point. She wanted us to see how hard it was to work with defective materials, so we could see what all the fuss was about."

He gawked at her.  "So she gave you some and told you to work with it, without letting you know?"

Marinette nodded.  "That's totally her style."  She let out a huff, trying to lwt go of her frustration.  "Wanna watch a movie?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the stories following this prompt have Chat doing something stupid or crazy. I wanted Marinette to be the one who made the mistake.
> 
> I have a long day ahead with the Chinese dancers today (it's recital), so I'm trying to do my catch up this morning while my brain still works.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir visits Marinette in her dorm, and she tries to hide her current project from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marichat May prompt #25 - Chat Noir Merch

"Hey Mari," Chat said, slipping in through her window.

"Oh!"  She let out a squeak.  "Is it **that** time already?"  She wrapped her current project in a small blanket and stuffed it behind her on the swing chair.  "Hi Chat. How are you? Want a snack?" She pointed to the little refrigerator. "Help yourself."

He stared at her for a moment, a sly grin slowly working its way over his face.  "Whatchya hiding Marinette?" he asked, ambling across the small room toward her.

"Me?"  Ugh. Her stupid voice rose up on the single word.  "Why would you think I'm hiding something? I'm not hiding anything."  She held out her hands and shook her head. "No secrets here. Maybe it's just your guilty conscience."  She winced a little. That was **not** the direction she wanted to go with this.  "I mean, you've got loads of secrets, I'm sure.  Being a superhero kind of leads to that sort of thing."  She shut her mouth and stared at him, cursing that her creative groove caused her to lose track of time.

He laughed, and it was almost more of a giggle.  "You're so funny, Mari!" He plopped into the beanbag.  "You're allowed to keep secrets, you know. It is only fair, after all."  He shrugged.

That was a bit unexpected, but then, he'd always been respectful of her creative pursuits, her physical space, and her ideas.  She let out a sigh. "It's not **really** a secret," she admitted.  "It's just… I wanted them to be done before you saw."  She wanted it to surprise him, to make him happy. "And you'll probably find out before the prototypes are even approved.  I mean, Mr. Agreste did say he was going to announce it, so..."

Chat straightened up, leaning forward in a way that seemed out of place on a beanbag.  "Mr. Agreste?" he asked. "The fancy pants designer?"

Marinette nodded.  She pulled out her cloth bundle.  "I've won several of his contests, and he… uhm… he approached me about designing a product for him."

Chat stared at her in surprise.  "He did?" He looked adorably puzzled.

"Does that surprise you?" she asked.

He shook his head quickly.  "It doesn't surprise me that someone would come to you for designs.  I mean, you work regularly with Jagged Stone on his accessories, clothes, and album art, so anyone with half a brain can tell you're amazing."

She smiled, feeling her whole body warm slightly with happiness that he would think so highly of her.

"It's just… I've heard Gabriel Agreste is… difficult to work with.  That he doesn't collaborate well."

Marinette let out a little laugh.  "Well that's all true, and I've seen it first hand.  But, he contacted one of my professors and they set up a meeting with me to meet with him."  She slowly unrolled the blanket. "He wanted me to design some Ladybug and Chat Noir accessories."  She handed him a little round crossbody purse, much like the one she favored. It was black with a neon green paw print embroidered on the front.  She hadn't finished the strap yet, but the silver zipper with a tiny baton pull was already expertly installed. As her prototypes for Mr. Agreste, these had to be perfect.

His mouth went round as he took the bag, his hands gentle as he turned it and looked it over.  "Wow," he whispered.

"And then there's this one, which initially looks subtle."  She held up the completed bucket purse. Again, it was black, with neon green cat eyes and a pink nose embroidered on the side.  She pointed out the subtle cat ears peeking up on the top and turned it so he could see the tiny belt strap tail dangling on the back.

Chat let out a high pitched whine before slapping a hand over his mouth.  His eyes, though, told her how delighted he was, as he peeked at her. After a moment, he dropped his hand, holding it out to take the second purse.  "Mari! These are purrfect. Oh my god. I want a hundred of each."

His reaction forced a giggle out of her.  "Are you going to roll around on them and make them part of your nest?"

"This has tiny little ears!" he whisper-squealed.  "And the tail!" He flopped onto the beanbag, cuddling her prototypes.  "So. Cute! I'm dead of the cute."

"Oh you silly cat."  If his reaction was anything to go by, he loved them, and it made her so happy to see him like this.

"One question," he said, not moving from his position of bliss.  "Why no Ladybug accessories?"

"Oh.  I'm going to make hers next.  I've got a whole hero set planed."  She smiled at him. "But I wanted to start with the ones for my favorite hero."

"Me?" he asked, sounding both ecstatic and nervous.  "I'm your favorite?"

She nodded.  "You **are** the only one who comes to visit me.  And I know you personally, so that helps."  She smiled and shrugged. "But I think you'd be my favorite even if you weren't one of my best friends."

He stared at her for a moment, his luminous green eyes getting watery.  He gently set aside her projects and held out his arms. "Can I have a hug?"

She moved out of the chair to flop hug him.  "Of course you can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 minute speed write.
> 
> Wrote this in the hallway outside the dance studio while rain pelted the skylight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette wakes up in a dark room with no memory past her morning. Includes intimidation, sass, a non graphic fight scene, and the phrase "moth fucker."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marichat May prompt #28 - hostage situation

Initially, the only thing Marinette was aware of, was how dry her mouth felt.  After a couple of moments licking her lips and not finding any improvement she realized she couldn't move much.  She let out a groan of annoyance, and it echoed in the dark. She blinked her gritty eyes, wishing she could rub them, and tried to take stock of her situation.  

She appeared to be tied to a chair, and it wasn't a nice comfortable chair, but firm wood. She could still feel her feet and hands, but they were starting to get a little prickly.  Her neck was stiff from her head lolling to the side and she rocked it a bit to try to ease the muscles. The room was dark and disturbingly quiet. She tried to remember what had happened, where she'd been before whatever this was had happened.  She recalled her morning clearly. Breakfast at the dining hall, her history of textiles class. She wasn't sure about lunch. Was today the day of her big meeting with Mr. Agreste? Had she even made it? If she missed it, she was going to beat the crap out of whoever was responsible.

She took a deep breath to push down the panic rising in her chest.  She'd obviously been abducted or captured by someone. She pushed her ear against her shoulder, relieved to feel her miraculous stones safely where they belonged.  She had to assume Tikki was hiding, biding her time until they had a good chance. She was clever in a bind and would be on hand to help Marinette when the right moment presented.

There was a mechanical shushing noise, and a low purple light came on around the edges of the room, letting her get a better feel for the size of the place.  The room filled with an eerie fluttering sound. "Are you quite awake over there, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" a man's voice asked. It was cold and haughty, and while it reminded her rather eerily of Adrien's father, she knew this voice.  She'd heard it when she and Chat Noir faced the akuma face of Hawk Moth at the Eiffel Tower during their first mission.

"What?"  She looked up and flinched.  Hawk Moth stood before her. A vision of gray and purple.  Instead of a simple domino mask like Ladybug, Chat, and Rena, he wore full face coif armor, and the effect was disturbing.  "Who are you? Where am I?" She was freaked out, but as someone who had faced akumas and horrible situations for years, she hadn't frozen in fear, unable to consider her options.

He grinned, which only made him look creepier.  "Surely you know the answer to that question," he drawled.

His entertainment at her expense brought up a rage that shoved aside her initial fear.  She glared at him. "I think you underestimate the strange costumes I've seen. You could be Hawk Moth's latest fashion disaster.  You're giving off the vibe of a badly managed sex dungeon refugee with a butterfly fetish. I guess there's a chance you're Hawk Moth himself.  But seriously, have you  **seen** some of the things the more artsy theaters do?"  She'd helped design and create more than a few artsy theater costumes.  She shuddered, remembering burlap and sequins. "I'm kind of leaning in the butterfly kink direction at the moment, so you should probably clarify."

He scowled at her.  "I'm not sure you realize the precarious nature of your position, Ms. Dupain-Cheng."  His cool voice held a warning.

"Obviously."  She channeled Chloe Bourgeois and rolled her eyes.  "I just woke up in a dark room, tied to a hard chair, with no memory beyond lunch.  I'm kind of missing some critical information here."

Even with the mask, she could see his jaw clench.  "So instead of asking like a civilized human, you thought an attitude would help?"

She cocked one eyebrow.  "Have you not looked at yourself in a mirror in that getup?"  She closed her eyes and sighed. "I was  **trying** to speak in a way a butterfly fucker would understand."  She paused. "No judgement, by the way. You do you. Or do your creepy flock of butterflies.  Whatever works."

His eyes were narrowed and angry.  "I am Hawk Moth. My akuma obey my commands; I do  **not** have relations with them."

"Sure."  She intentionally sounded unconvinced.  "Are you going to akumatize me then?" she asked.  "Send me out to fail to retrieve the miraculous, only to be cured by Chat Noir and Ladybug?"  She shrugged, as much as was possible with her bindings. "Have at it. The sooner you slap me in one of your hideous costumes, the sooner I can get back to my day."  She was pretty sure it wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.

He turned his back on her for a moment before poking at something in his pocket.  A television screen on an arm slid out of the wall nearest her. "Please do enjoy the news."

It was a recorded broadcast from earlier in the day.  Nadja Chamack reported live at the Eiffel Tower as a large cloud of black and purple butterflies coalesced into the shape of Hawk Moth's head.  "Heroes of Paris," the mockery of a human face spoke with that same cold haughtiness. "You will all provide me your miraculous within the next two hours.  I'm through with your games. Chat Noir, I advise you to talk sense into your companions if you ever wish to see your darling friend Marinette again. Ladybug, there will be no negotiation. Your time starts now."

So he didn't realize he had Ladybug; that was promising.  How did Hawk Moth even know that Marinette knew Chat? Alya was the only person she'd told.  It didn't make sense. She decided to stretch out on a limb. "Uh, Hawk Man," she called, looking at him as he gazed out his butterfly-leaded window.  She saw his back tense. "I think you got some bad intel."

"Hawk  **Moth** , not Hawk Man," he snapped.

"Fine, Hawk Moth fucker," she amended.

He whipped his head around to glare at her.

"I'm not friends with Chat Noir," she explained.  "I mean, I'd love to be, don't get me wrong. He  **is** my favorite hero, and that guy can fill out a cat suit, if you know what I mean."  She figured it helped sell the lie because her Kit-cat was hot as hell and she was not blind to that.

"He's rescued you several times," Hawk Moth pointed out, unconvinced.

She rolled her eyes again.  "Yeah. Along with  **most** of Paris.  And to be fair, you akumatized most of my classmates, so I have had a bit more need of being rescued than the average Parisian."

His eyes narrowed.  "You're working on hero themed designs for Paris' greatest fashion house."

The press release had made her abruptly popular at school, mostly with classmates who thought she could get them an in with the elusive Gabriel Agreste.  "Yeah. Lots of designers have done the same."

Hawk Moth took two steps closer.  "You got Chat Noir's approval on the first set of designs."

It was true, but now that he was mentioning it, she recalled meeting with Mr. Agreste.  It was hazy, but there. He'd been the only person she'd given that detail to, thinking it would lend her designs credibility.  "That's true, but it still doesn't mean we're friends. It's not hard to put out a call for one of the heroes. The Ladyblog has a whole section dedicated to such requests."  She shook her head. "I'm not nearly as high a bargaining chip as you think I am."

"So you're telling me you're worthless?" he asked in a low voice that dripped danger.  He gave a little tug on his cane, separating it into a sabre and sheath.

"I'm not worthless," she corrected.  This was definitely not the direction she wanted things to go while she was still tied up.  "But I'm not this… what did you call me? Darling friend?" She shook her head again. She felt sudden warmth in her hands.  Her bonds had come slightly loose, and something was nudging her fingers. She'd never been so relieved to feel Tikki's touch.

The leaded glass shattered, shards scattering across the floor as Chat Noir crashed through the window feet first.  His arc brought his heels into a perfect collision with Hawk Moth's shoulder, throwing the older man across the room, his sabre sliding well out of reach.  Chat snarled, sounding considerably more feral than she'd ever seen him, even as Ladybug. He seemed bigger, too.

Marinette pulled her hands free while Tikki magiced knots on her feet.  By the time she was free, Chat had somehow managed to pin Hawk Moth to the floor, roaring into the villain's face.  He was definitely bigger, with longer shaggier hair. The spikes on his tail whistled as it lashed through the air, a visual representation of his anger.  

"Easy Chat Noir," Carapace called as he leaped through the window, closely followed by Rena Rouge.  "You've caught him. No need to do more." His voice was gentle, but his green and gold eyes held concern.

Chat Growled at his ally.

"Stick with the plan Chat," Rena reminded, moving toward Marinette.  "Are you okay? Let's get you out of here," she suggested.

Marinette dodged the hand her best friend's alter ego held out and approached Chat Noir.  "I'm okay, Kit-cat," she said quietly. "You've saved me."

He looked up at her, his pupils a tighter slit than she was used to, and his mouth set in a grimace to accommodate very sharp teeth.  What had happened to him?

Hawk Moth screamed below him and Marinette realized Chat was digging his claws into the man's shoulders, piercing the hideous suit and the flesh beneath it.

She reached out to brush her fingers along Chat's jaw.  "It's okay. I'm safe." When and how did he get a transformation upgrade?  She could see that he was still her Chaton, but wow. He'd gone from overgrown house cat to a panther, bordering on terrifying.  "Let me help you." 

He let out a slow breath and nodded.  With that, the tension she felt coming off the rest of the team dropped noticeably.  They weren't used to this Chat either.

She looked down at Hawk Moth, critically assessing him the same way she would search for an akumatized item.  She reached down and plucked off the butterfly brooch at his neck. It immediately transformed into a button pin, and a wave of purple light washed over Hawk Moth to reveal Gabriel Agreste, Chat's claws still buried in his shoulders.

Chat Noir lowered his face to the other man's and let out a roar that shook the room, sending the shards of glass tinkling and scattering.

"Kit-cat?" Marinette said quietly.  "Let the horrible man go." She was half surprised when he obeyed.

Chat straightened up and rubbed his cheek against hers, filling the room with a rumble that rivaled most cars in volume.

Rena came over with the ropes that had previously bound Marinette to a chair, and tied Mr. Agreste's feet together.  "In a perfect world, I'd want the A team here for this," she said, standing up but not getting too much closer to Marinette or Chat.  "But we haven't been able to reach Ladybug all evening, and Chat's clearly in no condition to meet with the police or the press." She looked conflicted, and Marinette was pretty sure she wanted to bring her friend home safe.

"Chat, can you bring Marinette home?" Carapace asked slowly, stepping into Chat's field of vision.  "I kind of think you two have some stuff to talk about."

Marinette frowned at that ominous statement.  "What do you mean?" she asked.

Chat growled at Carapace, who simply raised his eyebrows.  "Do  **not** go there, dude," he chastised, before looking at Marinette.  "It's his business to tell you." He gestured to the broken window with one green gloved hand.  "The police are on their way, dude. If you can get her home safely, I suggest you do that now. She's probably hungry and tired."

"Mari… Marinette?" Rena said quickly.  "Before you go to bed, try to jot down anything you can remember from today so you'll have it for the investigation.  One of us will be by with the name and contact information of a good trauma therapist tomorrow. Tonight, just do what feels safe and comforting, okay?"

Marinette nodded, feeling bad for her friend, being forced to split her focus between her job as a superhero and her role as Marinette's bestie.  "Thank you." She looked at each of them in turn. "For saving me and for taking down Hawk Moth."

Carapace shook his head.  "We were totally backup. You and Chat mostly took care of it yourselves.  And we appreciate the help." He winced. "Ladybug might kill us later, but you're safe.  Paris is safe, and that's the really important stuff."

Marinette glanced back at Gabriel.  "Someone should go see Adrien," she said.  "He's an old friend of mine, and… I'm worried how he'll handle this."  She didn't like thinking about that. "Tell him he can come to me or my parents if he needs anything."  Chat purred again, pressing his face to hers.

"I'll go see him when we're done with the police," Carapace said.   

Chat scooped Marinette up.  "Home."

"Yes please."  She felt her adrenaline crashing and let herself sag against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started as a 30 minute speed write, but I hit the 5 minute warning timer and realized the only way to finish it properly was to take the time to do so. And I wasn't able to wrap it up until this morning.
> 
> One more chapter to come on this story, probably tomorrow (hoping to wrap up both remaining Marichat May stories tomorrow).


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post battle cuddles, dinner, and reveal of secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marichat May prompt #30 - Mari burglar vs Chat vigilante  
> If you tilt your head sideways, squint, and bounce up and down, you'll see this prompt in here. This one got away from me and went in other more satisfying directions than the short bit I had planned, but it fits the story better, too.

Chat brought Marinette back to her residence hall.  Being the crazy cat he definitely was at the moment, he didn't use the door like a sensible person, but brought her in through the window he usually used as his entrance.  It was a testament to her state of mind that it didn't occur to her to stop him and she didn't really care. It wasn't until he'd pulled all the blankets off her loft, tugging her into a nest in her bean bag chair that she even realized it.  She ended up sideways in his lap, her head settled against his shoulder.

He pulled the blankets up over them as the roar of a purr started up again.

"Wow," she whispered, laying her hand flat against his chest, marveling over the vibration.  "Kit-cat's got a new motor." Without lifting her head, she looked at him. His eyes were closed, but she doubted he was relaxed.  Whatever had happened to him had clearly amplified all his senses. She reached up to lightly touch the tip of one canine peeking out from between his lips.  "Is that uncomfortable?"

He shrugged.  "Ith weird." He ran his tongue over the teeth.  "Hard to talk."

She reached up and ran her fingers into his shaggier than usual hair.  It was still soft. "What happened to you?"

He met her eyes for a moment, then tipped his head back with a heavy sigh.  "Achievement unlocked," he mumbled.

It was so absurd she couldn't help giggling, relaxing against him again.  "You're so silly." She should probably write down all the things that she remembered about her time with Hawk Moth, but she couldn't bring herself to move.  Carapace had said they needed to talk, and the way he'd said it gave the words heavy meaning. "Are you going to always look like this now?"

He lifted his head, not quite meeting her eyes.  "No. Ith thpethial." He wrinkled his nose a bit at his lisping.  "Only uthed in unique thircumthtanthes."

"Hard to get used to those new teeth, huh?" she asked.

"Yeth."  He shook his head.  "I don't want to leave, but would you be okay by yourthelf for ten minuth?"

"Are you going to change back?"

"Gonna  **try** ," he said.

"Go ahead," she said.  "I need to do that thing Rena Rouge asked me to do.  Record my memories of today."

He nodded.  "You'll be okay?"  His eyebrows still rumpled adorably when he was concerned.

"I promise, I'll be fine."  She patted his shoulder.

"I'll bring back dinner," he offered.

"Yeah."  She sighed.  "I'd really like that."

He eased himself out from under her, pausing halfway through to brush his cheek against hers again.  Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She gave his wrists a squeeze, really liking this affectionate side of him.

As soon as he was out the window, Tikki zipped up out from under her shirt where she'd been hiding.  "Marinette! Are you okay?" She nuzzled Marinette's cheek urgently.

She considered it a moment.  "Yeah. I'm all right. Today definitely sucked, but it wasn't as awful as it could've been.  And it wasn't even my worst day as Ladybug."

The little red kwami smiled brightly.  "See! I told you, you were Ladybug, in  **and** out of the suit."

Marinette giggled, remembering all the times she hadn't believed that in her early days of battling akuma.  "You are so right, and I should always listen to you." She pushed herself out of the cosy nest just long enough to grab her laptop.  "I don't think I'll forget anything, but I should probably make sure. I really don't want to cause any difficulties with Hawk Moth's… Gabriel's trial."  She suddenly felt tears pricking at her eyes. "Oh Tikki. Poor Adrien." She shook her head and sniffled. Her friend had endured far too much heartache.  "He doesn't deserve this." She looked around for her phone, even as she considered what she could possibly say to him right now. Did he even know about his father yet?  She probably shouldn't call until Chat heard back from Rena and Carapace.

"Focus Marinette," Tikki said, tapping Marinette lightly on the nose.

"Sorry."  She took a calming breath.  "I just suddenly realized how huge it is that we've caught Hawk Moth, and god, what a stupid way for it to happen.  And he's  **Adrien's** father."

"Carapace and Rena will make sure he's safe tonight, and then you can be there for him," Tikki said.

She sighed.  "You're right, Tikki.  As always." She got back to her list, putting in the main points first and then going back to add the details.

"You should put in that you were working on the knots there," Tikki suggested, pointing to one of the bullets.  "Even if you plan to out yourself as Ladybug, you need to keep us kwami a secret."

Marinette nodded, then froze when her friend's words sank in.  "Wait… I can tell people now?"

Tikki nodded.  "You  **can** .  But… I wouldn't recommend you go fully public."

Oh the implications.  "But I can tell Chat?" she asked, hopeful.

"Yes Marinette.  I think you should tell him, even if you decide not to share it with the rest of the team, Alya, or your parents."  Her voice was serious.

"Oh."  Marinette flopped backward in the beanbag, tears slowly leaking down her face.  She'd wanted to tell Chat for years, and that feeling only got stronger the closer their relationship as Chat and Marinette grew.  "Do you know how happy that makes me?" she mumbled, holding out her hands for Tikki, then snuggling the kwami close.

"I really do," Tikki said.  "And I'll get to see Plagg. I've missed that cranky cat."

Marinette chuckled and returned to her list.  She was just finishing it up when Tikki brought up something else pretty important.  "You should get in touch with your parents. They're probably worried."

Marinette reached for her phone again, this time realizing she didn't have it.  It was probably with her bag and her Chat Noir purse prototypes in Gabriel's atelier.  She was just starting to panic when there was a knock at her window before it slid open.

"I'm back," Chat called.

Marinette leaned forward to look around her desk to see Chat Noir slip in with a bag of takeout.  He was back to his usual transformation. 

He rushed over and knelt in front of her.  "Are you okay?" His voice was urgent. "That took longer than I wanted."

Marinette nodded and reached out to stroke his cheek.  "You're you again."

He let out a mirthless,"Ha!"  Closing his eyes, he smiled and shook his head.  "I was still me before." He leaned into her hand.  "Kind of  **extra** me."  After another moment, he moved out of her reach and started pulling out the containers.  "I'm sure you're hungry."

"Can we call my parents?" she asked.  "When you were gone, I realized I didn't have my phone.  It's probably… still over at the mansion." She frowned. "I wonder if I'll be able to get it and my prototypes back, or if the police will hang onto them forever."  She didn't want to have to intervene as Ladybug, but she would if necessary.

"I'm sure we can get them back," he said.  "I  **am** a superhero."

"And you caught Hawk Moth, so that must count for something."  She smiled proudly at him. He really was amazing.

He nodded, looking oddly tense.  "That I did." He pulled out his baton, flipping up the display.  "Here you go."

Marinette considered for a moment and dialed her mom.  While both her parents had cell phones, her mom was more reliable about having it on hand.

"Hello?" her mother's voice came over the baton.

"Hi Maman, it's me," Marinette said, wondering what number had come up on the caller ID.

There was a gasp and a barely audible, "It's her."  The sounds of fumbling were followed by both her parents talking over each other on speaker phone.

"Cupcake, are you okay?  Should we pick you up?" her dad asked.

"Marinette, honey, what happened?  Where are you?" her mom asked.

"I'm back at my residence hall," Marinette said quickly.  "And I'm fine. I just… I don't have my phone right now, and I wanted to let you know I'm okay."

"I can be there in twenty minutes," her dad offered.

"No Papa, I really am fine."  She smiled, glad Tikki had reminded her to check in with them.  "I was rescued by three of Paris' heroes. Chat Noir brought me home, and he's watching over me tonight.  So I'm good." Chat chose that moment to disrupt the blankets enough to squirm back into the makeshift nest with her.  "I'll come home after classes tomorrow. Okay?"

"Are you sure?" her mom asked.

"I think the school will shut down tomorrow," her dad said.  "Most businesses, too. The mayor is calling for a day of celebration."

She hadn't even thought of that.  It was really over. "Oh. Well. If classes are cancelled, I'll be home a little earlier, then."  She realized that tomorrow wouldn't be much of a celebration for Adrien. "If Adrien comes by, can you keep him there?  Maybe take care of him?" she asked. "I think he's going to need a little extra love right now."

"So Gabriel was Hawk Moth?" her mom asked, her horror coming over the speaker quite clearly.  "That poor boy." She sighed, and Marinette could imagine her shaking her head.

"Oh.  Um. Wasn't that on the news?" Marinette asked, mentally kicking herself.

"They said something about notifying immediate family before releasing his name to the public," her dad said.

"I'm going to make up the guest room," her mom said.  "Just in case." For some reason, that made Chat draw an audible breath.

"I'm going to have dinner now," Marinette said.  The smell of Indian takeout had hit her, and her stomach ached as it rumbled at her.  It was far later than her usual dinner, and she'd had nothing since lunch.

"Tell Chat Noir thank you," her mom said.  "He and the other heroes can stop by the bakery any time, and whatever they want is on the house."

"I'll tell him.  Goodnight Maman, Papa.  I love you both." She hung up and handed the baton back to Chat, who looked a lot more wrung out than she'd realized.  "Hey, you okay Kit-cat?"

He nodded.  "It's been an exhausting day."  He picked up her hand. "I was so worried about you, Mari.  And… you and your family, you're amazing people."

"Where's this coming from?"  Her favorite hero was quite capable of being serious, she knew it first hand in both her identities.  She could feel that was his mood right now, and she wondered what brought it on.

"Practically your first thoughts in all of this are about Gabriel's son.  Not what you went through. Not how terrifying it must have been." He shook his head.  "He's the son of the person who hurt you."

"Actually, my first concerns were about  **you** , because you were so angry, so different."  She squeezed his hand. "Then I thought about Adrien, because he's a good friend and a good person who's had to put up with far more shit than he should have to."  Her stomach growled then.

"Oh.  Here."  He moved away from her to open a container with samosas.  "Finger food."

She took a tiny bite of the savory hand pie, closing her eyes as she savored it.  "Sooo good."

He laughed.

"You eat too," she ordered, snatching out a second samosa for him.  "You've worked hard today."

He bit off the corner of the samosa before lifting it out of her hand.  "I love these things."

Marinette got up and pulled out a couple of plates and spoons.  "I'm not going to try to drink my chana saag while stuffing handfuls of rice in my mouth."

His explosive laugh nearly launched her back off his lap.  "That's something I have to see."

Marinette shook her head.  "Nope. Tried it once. It was a bad idea.  I've learned my lesson." She wasn't above pouring the food onto her plate though.

Once they'd eaten their fill, she relaxed against his chest again.  "This is good. I could just stay like this," she murmured, a sense of contentment settling over her.

"Me too."  He kissed her forehead.  "But… there's something I really have to talk to you about."

"Something bad?" she asked, worried.

He seemed to think for a moment.  "Not exactly. Just different. And I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."

"Doe this have something to do with your new transformation?" she asked.  It was certainly different. And Carapace seemed to think they needed to talk.

He sighed.  "Yeah. You're clever, you know that?"

She giggled.  "Sometimes I am."  She patted his ribs gently.  "Just tell me. It's okay."

"Easier said than done," he muttered.  "So my new transformation is special, it makes me faster and enhances pretty much all of my senses, strengths, and fighting skills."  That would have been handy to have in some of their really ugly past akuma attacks. "The thing is, it's only available in special cases."

She nodded.  That made sense, really.  That kind of magic had to have some limitation.

"You have to be in danger for me to access it," he said.  "It's keyed specifically to you."

She sat up and looked at him.  "Me?"

"You," he agreed.  "As in Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Wow."  She stared at him a moment.  There was clearly more to it.  "Why me?"

The tips of his ears went pink.  "Uhh, fair question. Usually it's Ladybug," he said.  "But… uh. You know how cats can be territorial and uhh… stuff?"

She nodded, surprised by how flushed his face was.

"I guess it's a special defensive mate transformation exclusive to Chat Noir," he said quickly, closing his eyes to avoid looking at her.  "Apparently my miraculous has decided you're my mate, and… it reacted with that… uh, response when you were in danger."

"Defensive mate transformation?" she asked, shocked.  "Did you know you could even do that, that it was an option?"

He shook his head.  "When I transformed to find you, I ended up like that.  Rena called me  **Chat Noir, nightmare edition** ."

"You weren't  **that** scary," she countered.

He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.  "I was fucking feral."

She smiled.  "You were amazing."  She reached up and slipped her fingers into his hair.  "So what does all of this mean?"

He shrugged.  "I know we haven't talked about our relationship, like ever.  I come over. We hang out and cuddle, and it's really nice. I like it."  He smiled at her. "I like you. A lot, actually. But if you just want to keep things the way they are, I understand.  I just want to be with you in any way you'll let me, and we don't have to let some weird magical girl transformation dictate any of that."

She giggled.  "You  **are** a magical girl.  I knew it." She'd always enjoyed the soft and dorky side of her partner just as much as she appreciated his wit and skill in battle.  "I like you a lot, too." She ran her thumb over the line where his mask met his cheek. "I've been holding off on anything because…" She shrugged.  "Secret identities are a pretty big deal."

He beamed at her, looking so different from the sharp and shaggy other version of himself.

"I think it's time for me to tell you something."  She caught her lower lip in her teeth for a moment.  "I've wanted to tell you for years, but I wasn't allowed."  Would he be angry? Hurt? She thought he'd understand.

"You can share anything with me," he insisted.

"Tikki," she called.  "Can you come out?" She wasn't up for a full transformation, and she was far too comfortable in his lap.  The kwami alone should be enough.

Tikki zoomed out from wherever she'd been hiding, pausing to float in front of them.  "Hello Chat Noir!" She waved one of her little arms. "It's so nice to get to meet you at last."

Chat's mouth dropped open as he stared at Tikki.  "You… wuh?"

"I'm not just Marinette, ordinary girl, aspiring designer, and huge fan of Chat Noir," Marinette said softly.  "I'm also Ladybug."

He turned to gawk at Marinette now.   "Ooh!"

"Did something suddenly make sense?" Tikki asked, following up with a giggle.

Chat nodded and opened his mouth to speak when his baton beeped.  He absently thumbed the control to answer on speaker mode. "Huh?"

"Hey Chat," Rena said, waving through the little screen. Carapace stood behind her, and they both looked extremely serious, worried even.  "Glad to see you're back to the status quo. We have a bit of a situation here."

"What is it?" he asked, his superhero mode apparently overriding his shock.

"We've still had no word from Ladybug, and we can't find Adrien, Gabriel's son."  Rena glanced back at Carapace.

"He's a good guy, and I'm worried we won't be able to keep Hawk Moth's ID embargoed much longer."  The turtle hero shook his head. "You know how the mayor gets."

"Yeah."  Chat glanced at Marinette.  "Um, I found Ladybug, and she's in the loop."  His lips quirked a bit. "She was a bit tied up earlier, but I'm pretty sure she lent us her luck."

Marinette giggled, delighted by both his subtlety and wit.

"Oh, you're still with Marinette?"  Rena wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Chat stuck out his tongue.  "She needs cuddles."

Marinette covered her mouth to hide her laughter but it just made her snort and laugh harder.

"See?"  Chat rotated the baton to show Marinette leaning against him.  "She's hysterical."

Carapace shook his head.  "You're terrible."

Marinette gathered her wits.  "You two should come over. Ladybug wanted to meet you here."

Chat Noir turned to her suddenly, his eyes wide.  "Really?" he asked. "Y- she said that?"

"So we can meet up and then go find Adrien," Carapace suggested with a nod.

"Oh, no need," Chat said quickly.  "I found him. He'll be here when you get here, too."

Carapace visibly relaxed.  "Dude. Why didn't you lead with that?"

Chat shrugged.  "Priorities are weird."

"Pffft!"  Rena cackled.  "You be sweet to Marinette or I'll tell Ladybug on you."

"Why do you think  **I'm** going to be a problem?" Chat wanted to know.  "Do you know this girl is a thief?" He grinned at Marinette.

Rena continued laughing, clearly finding the accusation hilarious, and Carapace looked shocked.  "What are you  **even** talking about?"

"She stole my heart," Chat insisted.  "I didn't even notice! She's  **that** good."  He dropped his voice to a whisper.  "Save yourselves."

Carapace smirked.  "Yeah. Not a problem.  Okay. We'll hang up and head over.  See you in about ten."

"You're silly," Marinette said, shaking her head.  "Utterly ridiculous."

"I am," he agreed, settling his arms around her again.

"Is Adrien really on his way over?"  She wanted to reveal herself to the rest of the team, and she wasn't sure if it would be easier or harder to include her friend.  Having to tell him that she'd helped take down his father was  **not** something she looked forward to.

"Nope."  Chat grinned.  "He's been here all along."  He met her eyes. "Plagg, claws in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for joining me on this adventure. 
> 
> No guarantees, but I'm going to do my best to wrap up my remaining Marichat May story today.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to visit me over on [Tumblr](http://freedom-shamrock.tumblr.com/). If you have constructive feedback or need to discuss an aspect of this story, I've found that sort of thing tends to work better via direct messaging or asks than the comments section here.


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